Surf and Skate
by Yuri-hime
Summary: One surfs. One skates. They both ride different waves. One made of water, one of concrete and rails. Where they both meet in the middle, will determine the path they'll follow together. Part 4 Up!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** - I don't own Mai Hime. It is owned by Sunrise~

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><p><strong>~Surf and Skate~<strong>

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><p>"Hang left, hang left!" Natsuki Kuga yelled out over her shoulder at her best friend Nao Yuuki, as they shredded and grinded around the corner of a brick building.<p>

"Take the stairs, take the stairs! I dare ya! No no, I triple-dog-dare ya to do it!" Nao yelled back at her friend, as she jumped a curb and almost side-swiped a little old lady walking across the street. The little old lady began calling out obscenities at Nao's retreating back, and Nao laughed loudly as she flipped the old woman the finger.

Natsuki flashed a bright grin over her shoulder at her friend as she kick-flipped over a garbage can, and landed perfectly before coming up on the long set of stairs.

"Oh, a triple-dog-dare huh? You're on!" the dark-haired girl cried out over her shoulder as she put her foot down, and pushed hard against the pavement to give herself more speed and power to hit the railing.

Nao whooped loudly behind her, and Natsuki put everything else out of her mind as she pushed down with her foot, popped her skateboard up into the air, grabbed some sweet air, and landed hard on the railing.

It was just her, the rail, the wind in her face, and freedom as she slid all the way down the railing, not giving a damn about the people who had to dive out of the way of her and her board. She was a rebel. She didn't give a damn about what people thought, and she did whatever the hell she wanted to.

No one could stop her, or tell her what to do.

"Hey! Hey, you there! STOP! That's completely illfegal!" Natsuki heard a loud voice cry out, as she once again made a perfect landing on the pavement at the bottom of the stairway.

"That's illegal, Officer Suzushiro," a softer yet no-less-authoritative voice spoke up, and Natsuki looked over her shoulder to see two police officers running her way.

Natsuki flipped them both the bird, and looked quickly back up to the top of the stairway, to see Nao waving a hand sign to her. Natsuki nodded once, signed back, and then quickly pushed off on her board, leaving the police offers shouting behind her, and headed towards her and Nao's secret meeting place.

It was time to get a bit of salty, cool air.

**~o~o~o~**

"Hey Shizuru, don't you think that my abs and pecks are god's gift to women," a low, cocky voice spoke near a chestnut-haired brunette.

Shizuru Fujino let out a deep exasperated puff of air, as she rolled her eyes at her full-of-himself step-brother.

"Reito, get a life," was all Shizuru said in reply as she picked up her binoculars from her lap, and went back to watching the breaking waves of the ocean, and the sunbathing beach-goers from her lifeguard perch.

"But Shiizzuuuu," Reito Kanzaki whined, as he flexed his arms and puffed out his chest. "I'm gorgeous, handsome, sexy. You'd think that females would be _throwing_ themselves all over me. Except all they seem to want to do is swarm all over this dumpy, ordinary guy here," Reito groused as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of a two-toned, sandy-haired boy laying on a beach towel near them.

"Hey, hey! I'm laying right here, man. Can hear every word you say," Tate Yuuichi grumbled, then grinned widely as a fawning female raised a grape over his lips and dropped it into his open mouth, while another continued to massage his shoulders.

Shizuru felt a grin pull up the corners of her lips, as she watched her step-brother become even more flustered, as he continued to watch females practically throw themselves at their friend Tate's feet.

"Maybe it's his cologne that's attracting them, Reito. Ew-du-Musk," Shizuru said with a light giggle, before she turned her binoculars towards the pier, where she saw some kind of commotion going on.

"What the..." Shizuru murmured quietly to herself, as whatever was happening on the pier captured her full attention.

**~o~o~o~**

"Yo, Nao!" Natsuki called out as she raised her hand in a wave to her friend, who was leaning up against the boardwalk by the beach, her skateboard leaning up next to her.

"Yo!" Nao called back as she grabbed her board, jumped on it, and rolled over to her friend. Once before Natsuki, she jumped off, and give her dark-haired friend some love with their own special brand of handshake/fist bump.

"I take it you shook off those popo easy enough," Nao said with a loud _smack smack smack_ of her lips, as she chewed the gum in her mouth loudly.

Natsuki made a _psshhh_ sound as she tucked her board against her side, and began strolling lazily down the boardwalk towards the pier.

"Come on, Nao. You _know_ losers like that can't even _touch_ me once I get on my board and start flying," Natsuki replied as she reached up, and twisted her cap into its customary backwards position.

Nao just smirked in response, as the two friends came up to the end of the pier. Nao looked over the edge of the wooden railing, down into the deep blue waters below them and a sudden, insane idea struck her.

"Yo! I bet you can't grind this pier railing!" Nao exclaimed, as she turned to Natsuki with a gleam in her eye.

Natsuki paused briefly, then looked down herself into the water below them. It wasn't _too_ deep, but it was still deep enough that the fact that she couldn't swim, would pose a bit of a problem if she actually fell in.

_But Natsuki Kuga was never one to back down from a challenge._

So, Natsuki gave Nao a quick grin of acceptance to her challenge, dropped her board to the wooden walkway, and turned to make her way back up to the top of the pier where the railing started. It didn't matter to Natsuki that the railing was wooden, and not nearly as stable or 'grind-able' as a metal or steel railing would be. She was going for it!

"Go Kuga, go!" Nao shouted out from the end of the pier, as she watched Natsuki push herself forward hard on her board. She watched as her friend popped the board off of the walkway, and hit the wooden railing with great speed. She then watched as Natsuki pulled off a stellar grind all the way down towards her...and then Nao realized with a sudden start that she had overlooked one small, but very important detail.

_Where was Natsuki going to perform her usually perfect landing._

Going by the sudden panicked look on her best friend's face, Nao saw that Natsuki herself had also realized this grave miscalculation in their dare, and she saw Natsuki try to bail out of the grind. She'd probably lose her board, but at this point it was a small price to pay.

Natsuki tried to bail off of her board as the end of the pier quickly approached, but the laces in her shoes that she rarely ever tied got snagged in the wheels. Natsuki found herself and her board sailing headfirst over the edge of the railing, and splashing down hard into the waters below.

**~o~o~o~**

A sudden, terrified scream went up near the pier and Shizuru, who was already up and running after jumping down from her lifeguard watchtower, quickly made her way over to her jet ski. She didn't know _what_ the crazy girl on the skateboard had thought she was doing, but the instant Shizuru had seen her jump up on that wooden railing, she had been in motion to try to prevent the potential tragedy unfolding before her.

Shizuru jumped on her jet ski, powered it on, and blasted through the water and waves towards the last place she'd seen the girl. The entire way there Shizuru was cursing the idiot off in her mind, but once she got to the spot beneath the pier she was mentally all business again, and quickly killed the engine to her jet ski and dived headfirst into the water.

**~o~o~o~**

Natsuki floated in a quiet, watery world.

It was peaceful here.

No sound, and no one bothered her here.

The background noise of her father beating her...her mother crying for him to stop...the sound of her apartment door slamming shut for the last time, as she ran away into the night...all of this noise that usually played in the background of her mind finally...mercifully..._stopped..._

_It's okay now...I'm finally at peace...I can stop running now...I can...finally...stop now...,_ Natsuki drowsily thought to herself, as her eyelids began to close. Her lungs began to fill with water and the sweet, peaceful calling of death beckoned her forward.

Suddenly something flashed before Natsuki's almost fully-closed eyes. A bright bit of white, almost like fabric billowing through the water above her.

_An Angel...there was an Angel reaching down towards her...beckoning for her to take her hand._

Natsuki smiled at the beautiful Angel calling her forward, and she slowly raised her arm above her in the cool, soothing water.

_Mother...I'm coming home, Mother...please wait for me..._

And then Natsuki Kuga knew no more.

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><p><strong>Author's note<strong> - Hope you all enjoyed! Please review! ^^


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note **- Lol, so I got lightly warned (and glared at =p) to continue this story...to the end XD

I know I know, I have all my other stories that I also need to keep working on like _Scarlet Eyes_, _Sexy Lady_, _Elf and Wolf_, and others. And I will! I promise! ^.^

It's just incredibly hard for me to ignore a fun, new, interesting story idea. The story idea will sit there and pokepokepoke me incessantly until I finally start writing it, lol. Do you guys have any idea how long the idea for this _Skate and Surf_ story has been in my head. Months XD

And I'm only giving up on ignoring the constant plot-idea-poking now ^^

But I really do promise to continue working on my other fics. I hope in the meantime you all enjoy this new chapter =3

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><p>"Come on, Natsuki! Breathe! Breathe you idiot! I swear to god if you die on me here, I'll kill you!" a voice that sounded far away penetrated Natsuki's hearing. The raven-haired girl began taking in deep lungfuls of air, as she tried to figure out in her semi-conscious state why Nao was screaming at her like a banshee.<p>

"Please miss, could you just move back a bit. I need to continue administering CPR and you are getting in the way," Natsuki next heard a softly-accented voice say somewhere near her.

Natsuki's awareness of where she was and what was going on slowly began filtering back in as a soft, gentle pressure pressed down on her lips and she felt air being forced into her lungs.

_Oh...this feels kinda nice_, Natsuki thought to herself in a soft daze, before her higher brain functions began putting two and two together.

_CPR...lips...CPR...pressure on my lips...CPR...someone...someone is...kissing me!_

Natsuki eyes instantly flew open and the gentle pressure on her lips ceased, as she leaned her head over to the side and heaved all of the seawater in her lungs out.

"Oh god, Natsuki!" Natsuki heard Nao's voice exclaim loudly, before she felt a body land heavily on hers, forcing what little air she had left in her lungs out.

"Oh for crying out loud. Miss, could you _please_ **move** **back** so that the victim can breathe properly," Natsuki once again heard the softly-accented voice speak, and Nao's heavy pressure eased back off of her body. Natsuki next felt a gentle touch as someone lightly cupped her cheek, and turned her head forward.

"Can you breathe properly now? That was quite a fool stunt you pulled, jumping on the railing like that. You could have been killed. I'm going to ask that you stay still until the ambulance arrives to take you to the hospital," Natsuki heard the soft voice say, as she stared dazedly up into the stern-looking face of a young woman.

_Angel...?_ Natsuki thought fuzzily to herself, before the words 'ambulance' and 'hospital' penetrated the fog that was still clouding her mind. In a panic she looked around for Nao, and when she saw her best friend kneeling worriedly by her side and looking worriedly back at her, they both exchanged a quick look of understanding.

Ambulances equaled police. Police equaled questions. Questions like "what the hell were you doing grinding on a public railing at a public pier."

Natsuki began struggling to her feet, and Nao quickly reached over to help her friend up.

"Hey, hey! What do you two think you're doing? You have to stay here for the ambulance," the accented young woman said with slight annoyance in her voice.

Once Natsuki fully struggled up to her feet with Nao's help, she saw that a small crowd had formed around her. This made her feel decidedly claustrophobic and more anxious, and the distant-yet-quickly-approaching sound of an ambulance didn't help matters.

"Nao, let's get the hell out of here," Natsuki rasped and then coughed, her abused lungs protesting having to breath and talk at the same time.

Nao nodded, and quickly began leading Natsuki away.

Shizuru let out a deep sigh of exasperation, as she watched her near-drowning victim get up...and walk away.

**~o~o~o~**

"You did _what_!" a loud voice cried out as Nao gently eased Natsuki down into the old, armrest chair in their shared dingy apartment.

"Midori...a little less screeching _please_. I have a monster of a headache," Natsuki groaned out, as she took the two pills Nao dropped into her hand, and then took a swig of the NOS Energy drink Nao also handed her.

"Ya know, I don't think mixing pain pills and NOS is how the combination should work. Pretty sure it's water and pills," the brown-haired, green-eyed young woman said as she turned and headed into the small apartment kitchen.

"At this point I don't care _what_ I mix it with. I just want this headache gone," Natsuki groaned, as she leaned back in the chair.

"So, you wanna tell me again _why_ you felt the need to almost throw away your life, by grinding on a _wooden_ railing overlooking semi-deep water?" Midori called out from the kitchen, where she was busy making pancakes for dinner. When you didn't have much in terms of food or money, you ate what you had and were damn grateful for it. That was one of Midori's many mottos.

Natsuki groaned again as she dropped her arm over her eyes, and tried to block out the memory of the entire ordeal.

"I dared her to. And you know Natsuki...she can never resist a dare," Nao answered softly, with what Natsuki could hear was a remorseful note in her voice.

The ebony-haired girl dropped her arm slightly so that she could peek over at her unusually-quiet best friend, and saw a look of pained regret on her face.

"Hey...hey, Nao. It wasn't you fault...okay. We do stupid shit all the time. _Both_ of us. This time it just didn't quite work out. But we _both_ know the risks when we board. It's a way of life! No holds barred. No turning back or chickening out. That's the code you, I, and the others live by. So, don't go getting all regretful and remorseful on me now over it...okay," Natsuki finished softly with a slightly-crooked grin, for the girl who had been with her through some of the craziest, and sometimes darkest times of her life.

Nao surreptitiously wiped away a couple stray tears that had managed to sneak their way down her cheek, and she gave Natsuki a brief nod and small smile.

Natsuki nodded back and returned the smile, before she leaned back in the chair which groaned in protest beneath her.

"I have to go back to the pier tomorrow," Natsuki muttered suddenly, with her arm once again thrown over her eyes.

"Why?" Nao asked curiously, as she continued to watch her friend.

Natsuki once again dropped her arm a bit, so that she could peek over at Nao.

"I have to...thank that person who saved me."

A small frown pulled down the corners of Nao's lips, as she replied, "again, why? It was the lifeguard. It's her job to rescue lamers who can't even swim." Nao said this with a teasing grin.

Natsuki dropped her hand a bit to give Nao the finger, which Nao just grinned brightly at.

"Well yes, it _was_ that person's 'job' to save my ass...but I still think I should thank her..." Natsuki muttered softly.

Nao shrugged lightly and replied, "whatever. If you wanna go thank her tomorrow, we'll go so you can thank her. But remember, we first have to go hang with the crew in the morning. Gotta practice for the big Comp. Grand prize will be enough to get us outta this shithole."

"What was that about my place being a shithole," Midori's voice called out loud and clear from the kitchen.

Nao gulped loudly, and replied back with a slightly-nervous crack in her voice.

"I meant what a _lovely_ and _wonderful_ place you've so graciously allowed us to stay in."

Natsuki sent a amused glance over to Nao, as she murmured the word 'pussy' to her.

It was Nao's turn to give Natsuki the finger, which Natsuki grinned brightly at in response.

Both Natsuki and Nao then heard Midori call back "whatever", and they both grinned at each other. Midori was older than them by a few years, but she was still a 'cool adult'. Though _never_ let her hear you actually call her 'an adult'.

She'd break your kneecaps.

Midori was one of the oldest skateboarders Natsuki and Nao knew, and when she'd learned that both younger girls had needed a place to crash for a while, she had opened her door to them no questions asked.

_Midori was hella cool in their book._

"Well, anyways you better get some rest. We have a pretty busy day tomorrow," Nao said as she got up, gently patted Natsuki's arm, and went off to the guest room that doubled as her and Natsuki's room, while they stayed with Midori.

Natsuki grunted lightly in agreement, before she slowly dragged herself to her feet, and shuffled her way to the bathroom for a much needed shower.

**~o~o~o~**

"Yo, yo, yo Natsuki! Heard you almost bit the big one yesterday. Good to know that our star boarder can throw down hard enough to even beat death!" the overly-excited voice of Tate Yuuichi cried out, as the two-toned haired boy sidled up to Natsuki's side.

Only to be promptly shoved to the ground by the irritated sable-haired girl, which caused the small crew of skateboarders surrounding them to laugh.

"Shut it, Yuuichi. And where the hell were you yesterday! We had practice, and you never showed," Natsuki said with a deep scowl, as she pushed up on her dark sunglasses to fix Tate with her deadliest glower.

Nao snickered as she moved forward to give her other best friend, Mikoto Minagi, a high-five in greeting.

Tate laughed nervously as he rose slowly back to his feet, and lightly dusted off the back of his baggy pants.

"Yes...well...I was doing a bit of...'sight-seeing' you could say. The ladies down at the beach...well...they love me! Come on, Natsuki have a heart. You shot down mine ages ago, and a guy _has_ to get some loving somewhere," Tate answered as he followed along behind Natsuki, only to stop dead in his tracks as the raven-haired girl whirled around on him, moved forward and grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

"You were down by the beach yesterday! Is that how you know about my...'near-death' experience," Natsuki growled out, as she looked Tate dead in the eye.

Tate laughed nervously again, and raised his hands in a 'I-surrender' sign.

"Uhhh...yeah...I have a couple people I know out there, that I usually hang with every now and then. No biggie. I didn't even really hang out at the beach too much longer after what happened. And I was _really_ happy when you got pulled out of the water, and were alright," Tate answered with sincerity in his eyes.

Natsuki stared at him a bit longer, before she pushed him forward and let go of his shirt.

"Let's just get practicing," Natsuki muttered under her breath as she reached up to turn her cap backwards, and dropped her board to the ground.

Tate nodded like a puppy, happy that its master was no longer pissed at it, and ran over to where he had left his own board.

Natsuki breathed in and released a deep, cleansing breath before she straightened her shoulders, and made her way over to her small skateboarding crew. Like Nao she gave Mikoto a high-five, and greeted the other two members of her small team the same.

"Alright, everyone! Let's get skating!" Natsuki cried out as she got on her board, and took off like a shot with the sounds of her friends cheering behind her.

Their idea of 'practice' involved grinding, shredding, and skating on anything and everything that was available. They rode rails, ollied over sidewalks and trash cans, grinded on sidewalks and benches, nailed wallrides, worked on perfecting their already sweet airwalks. Anything and everything that could be skated, slid across, tricked on, or grinded on they used. By the end of their training/jam session they were all breathless, sweaty, and high off of the excitement and energy that they fed off of each other. They all exchanged hand-slaps, shakes, and bumps after 3 hours strong of training, before calling it a day. Everyone went their separate ways with plans to meet up again in a few hours, to do a couple more hours of training.

"So, ready to go see your lifeguard and thank her," Nao said with a grin, as she slid her sweaty arm around Natsuki's neck.

Natsuki rolled her eyes and lightly extricated herself from Nao's arm, and used her own sweaty arm to uselessly wipe away the sweat from her brow.

"One, she's not _my_ lifeguard. She's _the_ lifeguard who saved me. And two, hell no I'm not ready! We stink. I need a shower first before we go," Natsuki answered, as she sniffed at the front of her sweat-soaked shirt.

"_You_ stink, my dear friend. _I_ smell like a bed of roses," Nao said in a sickly-sweet voice, complete with fluttering eyelashes, and a fake dreamy smile on her face.

Natsuki snorted and playfully shoved her friend before they both laughed, and began making their way back to their apartment.

**~o~o~o~**

"So...you ready now?" Nao asked curiously, as both she and Natsuki walked along the same boardwalk they had strolled along the day before.

They were both scrubbed clean and smelling fresh, but still carried their old boards with them, tucked under their arms. Apart from the fact that their skateboards were their preferred modes of transportation, Natsuki and Nao were deeply attached to their boards. They took them practically everywhere they went. Though Natsuki had been heartbroken to lose the board she'd had yesterday to the ocean, she did have a couple more stored at the apartment. All just as well-used but lovingly-cared for, as the one she'd sadly lost.

Natsuki nodded briefly in reply, as she and Nao made their way down the boardwalk, to where it ended onto the beach's sand itself. Both girls drudged along in respective Vans and Airwalk shoes, kicking up sand as they walked along.

"Over there! That's the lifeguard tower closest to the pier. That must be the one your rescuer is stationed at," Nao panted lightly as she pointed to a tall, white lifeguard tower not too far away from where they were.

Natsuki nodded again, and she and Nao pushed forward. The sun was beating down on them, the sand made it difficult to walk, and the clothes they wore were not exactly conducive to beach-walking.

In short they were cooking alive on the beach, and almost toppled over in relief when they finally made it to the tower.

When they got there a good-looking young man, with tousled black hair was sitting in the lifeguard chair. He dropped down his dark shades to look over at Natsuki and Nao, revealing bright golden eyes.

"Why hello there, ladies. What honor do I have in making your lovely acquaintance? Did you trudge all the way over here in those hot clothes, and that heavy sand just to see me?" A bright flash of teeth, and a wink were sent over to Natsuki and Nao...who both exchanged slightly-disgusted looks with each other, before replying in unison.

"No!"

"Hell, no."

The dark-haired young man wasn't fazed a bit by the rejection, and just flashed them both another grin, before pushing his glasses back over his eyes, and sitting back in his chair.

"Then I assume you are here to see Shizuru," he answered with a small grin tugging up the corners of his lips.

Natsuki nodded slightly, as she replied, "if that's the person who...rescued a girl from the pier yesterday...then yes."

The golden-eyed young man looked over at Natsuki again, and the small grin on his face widened.

"I thought that was you. Never forget a pretty girl's face," he replied, making Nao do gagging motions behind Natsuki's back.

The young man ignored Nao's antics, and pointed towards the glistening blue ocean.

"You're in luck today. Today is actually Shiz's day off, so I'm filling in for her. But the girl just can't stay away from the ocean. She's out there right now riding the waves," the young man said with light, indulgent smile.

Natsuki followed the track of the young man's raised arm, and her breath caught in her throat as she watched what had to be a wave-riding goddess, command the awesome power of the waves beneath her.

Honeyed locks that seemed to glow under the sun's brilliant light, a figure that was fit and healthy in a white, two-piece suit and a commanding stance on a surfboard that would make any of Natsuki's skateboarding crew stop and pay attention. The girl riding the waves looked to Natsuki how she felt when she was riding the concrete.

_Free...happy...like nothing and no one could touch her, and all the world was hers to command._

"Angel..." Natsuki breathed out softly...unconsciously...and Nao glanced curiously at her friend, as the word slipped past Natsuki's lips.

_In that one breathless moment...Natsuki Kuga unknowingly lost her heart...to the surfing goddess...Shizuru Fujino..._

**_Her Angel._**

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><p>I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review! ^.^<strong><em><br>_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's corner** - A big thanks to everyone who read my last chapter, and a very big thanks to those who took the time to review. You guys all rock! =D

Also, it has been asked what the character's ages are in this fic, so here they are in order of oldest first =3

_**Reito - 23**_

_**Shizuru - 18**_

_**Natsuki - 17**_

_**Nao - 17**_

Now onwards, and I hope you all enjoy this new chapter! =3

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><p>Shizuru dropped into the large, curling wave that came up behind her, slid to her feet gracefully onto her surfboard, and rode the wave towards shore like a pro. In fact, many had told her that she <em>should<em> go pro, and it was an idea she had been giving serious thought of late.

Shizuru extended her arm, and let her fingers trail along the curving wall of water, as she rode down through the tunnel created by the wave. She felt free and alive, and it was only out here under the bright sun, clear skies, and incredible surf that she ever felt this connected with everything around her.

It was a heady feeling, and one she craved to experience everyday. It was part of the reason she had decided to become a lifeguard. Apart from being able to help others out on the water, she got paid to do what she loved the most. Be out with the waves.

It was a pretty sweet life in her opinion, and she honestly couldn't imagine what could make her life even better than it was.

A sudden movement out by the lifeguard tower suddenly caught her eye, and Shizuru looked closer to see that Reito was waving at her to come back to shore.

Shizuru sighed with annoyance, and seriously contemplated ignoring her half-brother. Reito _knew_ that today was her day off, and that she _really_ didn't like to be interrupted when she was in her 'surf zone'.

Shizuru let out another deep sigh, as she began to paddle quickly to shore. She decided she'd just go to the tower, make him tell her what he wanted quickly, and them get back out to the waves. They were breaking amazingly today, and she didn't want to waste a single minute of this day dealing with Reito's usual melodramatics.

As Shizuru paddled closer to shore she noticed that there were two young girls standing beside Reito's watch tower. What struck her as highly unusual was that they were standing in hot, baggy clothes and carrying skateboards under their arms. Then as she got closer to shore, Shizuru got a better look at one of the girl's faces and realized with a bit of surprise, that it was the same girl she had rescued down at the pier the day before.

_The crazy skater girl from yesterday,_ Shizuru thought to herself with a small grin. _I wonder what she's doing back here. She high-tailed it out of here so fast yesterday, I'm kinda surprised to see her back again. Guess the only way to see why she's here is to go talk to her,_ Shizuru thought as she finally reached shore and stepped onto the sand, carefully carrying her heavy board under her arm with her.

Shizuru walked all the way over to the lifeguard tower, not showing a hint of strain as she lifted her board a bit, and leaned it against the side of the tower. Her toned arms and abs flexed as she moved, and she could have sworn a low whistle escaped the lips of the young, red-haired girl standing near her. Shizuru turned curious scarlet-red eyes towards the two young girls, before she looked up at Reito with the obvious question of "what did you want" on her face.

Reito flashed his most boyish grin at his half-sister, the one that usually made all the girls swoon...when one Yuuichi Tate wasn't around...as he opened his mouth to speak.

"These two lovely vixens have come by to pay you a visit, Shizuru dear."

Shizuru rolled her eyes at her brother once, before she replied, "one day you're going to get slapped with sexual harassment charges, Reito 'dear' if you keep hitting on the female population so much."

Reito merely wiggled his dark eyebrows behind his dark glasses, before turning his attention back towards the ocean to continue watching out for the beach-goers.

Shizuru turned her curious gaze back towards the two young girls before her, and tilted her hair in a way that a long chestnut strand of hair slipped over her shoulder, and blew gently in the wind.

"Hey girls, can I help you both with something?" Shizuru asked with a soft, curious smile.

The red-haired girl suddenly grinned brightly, and moved forward to sling her arm around the dark-haired girl's neck.

"Yes. Yes, you most certainly can help us with something. My friend here, the one who almost drowned on your pier yesterday I'm sure you remember, has something she'd like to tell you," Nao said with a huge grin, as she _just_ resisted the urge to give her best friend an affectionate noogie.

Natsuki growled softly, and lightly shoved a laughing Nao off of her. She then cleared her throat, and looked back into the most gorgeous, shimmering pair of ruby-red eyes she'd ever seen. The young woman standing before Natsuki was fit, toned, and had a carefree air about her that seemed to call out to her own carefree spirit. Natsuki suddenly found herself tongue-tied for one of the _very_ few times in her life.

"I-I...ahh...sorry," Natsuki stammered out nervously. She quickly cleared her throat, licked her dry lips, and tried to speak again without looking like a total idiot.

"Ah, hi. My name is Natsuki. Natsuki Kuga. I'm ahh...I'm the girl you had to rescue from drowning at the pier yesterday," Natsuki said softly as she looked down at her scoffed shoes briefly, before turning her eyes back up to the honey-brunette before her. The crimson-eyed girl hadn't said anything but her expression had softened, and her burgundy eyes seemed to encourage Natsuki to continue.

"I-I just wanted to tell you...thank you...thank you for saving my life, and sorry for being such a bonehead to have tried something like that when I can't even swim," Natsuki muttered softly, as she dropped her head in a slight bow towards Shizuru.

Shizuru blinked once, before asking gently, "so you really can't swim? I wasn't sure if it was just the impact of hitting the water so hard that had dazed you, and prevented you from being able to swim back to the surface, or if you just didn't know how to swim. Now that I know it's the latter, here is what I'm going to do. Firstly, thank you for your thanks and apology. Though you didn't really need to make either, as it's my job as a lifeguard to rescue people...even seemingly-suicidal-boneheaded people," Shizuru said with a teasing grin at Natsuki, which caused the dark-haired girl to blush deeply, but she returned the grin.

"And secondly, I actually also offer swimming and surf lessons. If you _really_ want to apologize or 'make it up' to me, you can take my swim lessons and learn how to swim. So that if you ever decide that you want to try to fly again, you will at least know how to swim when you fall," Shizuru said, as her ruby-red eyes sparkled with mirth.

Natsuki stared in complete silence at Shizuru for a few seconds, before Nao coughed loudly behind her back, causing the raven-haired girl's brain to kick-start again.

"S-Sure! I'd love to learn how to swim with you," Natsuki exclaimed, before a frown came to her lips.

"But I don't...I don't really have any money to afford lessons..." Natsuki trailed off softly with such a crestfallen expression, Shizuru suddenly felt like she was looking at a puppy who'd just lost its favourite chew toy.

Shizuru smiled softly, and reached forward to lightly touch Natsuki's skateboard.

Natsuki started slightly, as she instinctively began to tighten her grip on her board. She rarely ever allowed anyone else besides herself to touch her skateboards, with the exceptions of Nao and Midori. But when Shizuru reached forward and almost lovingly trailed her fingers over the worn yet-sturdy wood of the board, Natsuki found her body relaxing and she allowed Shizuru to continue to lightly touch her skateboard.

"How about this," Shizuru began, as she slowly drew her hand back, and continued to smile softly at Natsuki. "In exchange for swimming lessons, you can give me skateboarding lessons. I've always wanted to learn, and you look like you know a thing or two about skateboarding...apart from the fact that you like to soar from the tops of piers into water," Shizuru said with a teasing grin.

Nao burst out laughing, and Natsuki gave Shizuru a sheepish grin. "I'm never gonna live that one down, am I?"

"Nope!" Shizuru chirped brightly.

"Oh, I definitely like this chick, Natsuki. You should so invite her to join our crew once you're done teaching her how to board," Nao said with a cheeky grin, as she once again grabbed Natsuki around the neck, and this time didn't resist the urge to give her best friend a noogie.

Natsuki laughingly grumbled and playfully shoved Nao, as she desperately tried to get her friend to stop "messing up her _'do_", while Shizuru stood and laughed at Natsuki and her friend's antics.

Natsuki suddenly felt a brisk breeze blow over her and through her hair, and she just felt more happy and alive than she had in a very long time.

_Things are looking up,_ Natsuki thought to herself, as she shared a quick glance and grin with the honey-haired brunette before her.

_Things are definitely looking up._

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><p><strong>Next Chapter<strong> - Lessons! =D


	4. Chapter 4

"I must say Natsuki, your life-saver and future swim coach is smokin' hot!" Chie Harada exclaimed, as she sat on the concrete ledge overlooking the skate park Natsuki and the rest of their crew were all gathered in.

"Chie darling, I _know_ you're not calling another female besides _me_ hot...correct?" Aoi Senoh said with the most innocent, yet threatening smile on her face.

Chie had the good sense to shake her head quickly, as she let out a nervous laugh while rubbing the back of her head.

"Never dreamed of it, Aoi baby," Chie quickly answered as she jumped down from the ledge, hopped onto her board and rolled over to her girlfriend. Aoi wasn't a skater herself. She worked as an assistant manager at the local skate shop, and just enjoying seeing her girlfriend and the others skate about, without having to actually risk injuring herself trying.

"I love you, my Aoi-kitty," Chie added as she leaned forward, and lightly rubbed her nose against her girlfriend's.

Aoi melted inside, and returned Chie's eskimo kiss. "I love you too, my Chie-bear."

"Oh gag gaaaaag!" Nao exclaimed as she made gagging motions, while standing beside an amused Shizuru and an exasperated Natsuki.

"Anyways! Shizuru, are you ready for me to show you how to skateboard? And also, you dressed well for your lesson today," Natsuki said shyly, as tried not to stare too hard at the bit of skin that showed at the chestnut-haired girl's waist. Shizuru had opted to dress light and cool for her first skateboarding lesson in the hot sun. She'd put on a form-fitting top that rode up lightly at her mid-drift, allowing cool air to blow against her skin. And she wore cargo pants that fit a little loosely, and were held up with her favourite belt.

Shizuru smiled at Natsuki and softly replied, "thank you. I'm glad I at least 'look' the part of a skater, even if I fall over on my butt for most of the day today." Shizuru said with a light laugh, before she reached down to pick up the lovingly-worn skateboard Natsuki had lent her to use for the day. Shizuru could tell like the skateboard Natsuki mainly used, the one she now held in her hands was a well-loved old friend to Natsuki. Shizuru liked that about the jade-eyed girl, as Shizuru herself treated her surfboards with the same loving care.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road!" Nao cried out, as she dropped her board onto the ground and stepped onto it.

Natsuki nodded, and dropped her board onto the hard pavement as well. Shizuru followed suit, and lightly placed the board onto the ground.

"Well, first off how well do you think you can do a basic push and ride? I know your balance is great as you surf so awesomely, but we should find out first if that translates as well on concrete as it does on water," Natsuki said as she did her best to slip into an 'instructor' tone of voice. She wasn't very good..._or good at all_...at teaching others how to do what came naturally to her, as she'd never had to do it before. But Shizuru was a very special case for her, and she'd do her best to make the honey-brunette feel as comfortable with her first lesson as possible.

"Well, I guess the best way for us to find out is for me to just do it," Shizuru said with a smile and wink in Natsuki's direction, which caused Natsuki's heart to flip-flop.

Shizuru put her left foot down on the board, and readied herself to push off against the pavement with her right foot. Natsuki smiled slightly to herself when she saw this, as she now knew that Shizuru would be a 'regular' skater like herself, and not a 'goofy' skater going by the way she placed herself on the skateboard.

Shizuru took in and released a deep breath, before she pushed herself forward on the skateboard.

_It was like sailing in the wind._

Shizuru let out an exuberant little laugh as she quickly gained control of the board, and allowed herself to cruise along the pavement. It was just like surfboarding! The concrete beneath her board was of course hard and solid, but it reminded her of riding the more choppy waves that would sometimes come up beneath her surfboard, and she _knew_ how to handle those.

Natsuki's mouth had fallen open as she watched her 'student' easily roll around the skate park, while Nao laughed uproariously beside her.

"Looks like _you_ may need some lessons from _her_, eh Natsuki!" Chie shouted before she was gently poked in her side from Aoi and told to behave. Chie chuckled softly in response, as she pulled the blue-eyed woman in her arms closer against her chest.

Shizuru made her way back over to Natsuki, and giggled softly when she caught the half-shocked expression still on Natsuki's face, which the emerald-eyed girl immediately tried to cover.

"That was uh...wow...are you _sure_ you've never ridden a skateboard before?" Natsuki asked as Shizuru pulled up to a stop beside her, and easily stepped off of the skateboard.

Shizuru let out a soft laugh that caused a pleasant shiver to run up and down Natsuki's spine.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I've never tried skateboarding before, Natsuki. But really when I'm on the skateboard it doesn't feel that much different from when I'm on my surfboard. I do know that back when skateboarding was first invented, it was surfers who actually brought the idea of riding waves to 'riding concrete'. And those first skaters were as natural on land as they were on water. So, I guess you don't really have _too_ much to teach me to become a skater," Shizuru said with another soft laugh.

Natsuki let out a wry chuckle, as she gently rubbed the back of her head. "No, I don't suppose I do at that."

"Well then, I guess it's time for Natsuki to learn how to swim! So, the next time she decides to take a flying leap off a pier, she at least won't sink like a rock," Nao cheekily stated with a grin, as she skated over to where Natsuki and Shizuru stood.

Shizuru nodded thoughtfully as Natsuki shot Nao a glare that could curdle milk, which Nao just smiled sweetly back at.

"That sounds like a good plan, Nao. Natsuki, would you like to come down to the beach with me, so that I can give you your first swimming lesson?" Shizuru asked with a smile at the ebony-haired girl.

Natsuki stood staring back into Shizuru's hypnotic, scarlet-eyed gaze and numbly nodded her head 'yes'. "Uhh yes, yes that sounds...great," Natsuki mumbled, as she tried to bring back together her scattered wits, which had been blown to the winds when Shizuru had looked at her so softly.

"Alright then, so I'll meet you down by the pier in about an hour? I'm going to head home first and get my swimsuit. You'll probably need the time to go home and get yours as well," Shizuru said as she walked up to Natsuki, reached forward to take the raven-haired girl's hands into her own, and gave them a light squeeze.

"Thank you for giving me my first skating lesson. I'd love to have another sometime soon, and maybe you can show me a skate trick or two then," Shizuru said with a light smile before she let go of Natsuki's hands, which caused the emerald-eyed girl to miss the touch instantly.

"It was...my pleasure," Natsuki said softly, as she used her tongue to wet suddenly dry lips.

Shizuru gave her a quick grin, then called out a goodbye to the rest of Natsuki's friends, and then turned to make her way out of the skate park.

"Chie, I need a favour from you," Natsuki said suddenly to her short-cropped haired friend, and Chie looked up from nibbling on Aoi's neck with curious interest.

"Sure Natsuki, what can I do for ya?"

Natsuki turned fully to face her friend, took in and released a deep breath, then slapped her hands together before her, and dropped her head down over her hands.

"Can I borrow an swimsuit from you! I don't have one!"

Chie blinked once...twice...then exclaimed so loudly the people walking on the sidewalk by the skate park could hear her.

"Whaaat!"

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><p><em>Next chapter, swimming lessons! =D<em>

Really hope you all enjoyed! Please review~ ^.^_  
><em>


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